Where does “industrious” come from?
Industrious comes from Middle French industrieux, from Latin industriosus, derived from Latin industria meaning diligence or effort, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European en.
industrious (English): Hard-working and persistent
Definitions
- Hard-working and persistent
Ancestry of “industrious”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | industrieux | — |
| 2 | Latin | industriosus | diligent, active, industrious |
| 3 | Latin | industria | diligence, assiduousness; industry, activity;... |
| 4 | Latin | industrius | active, industrious, assiduous, diligent |
| 5 | Latin | struō | to place one thing on top of another, to pile up, join together |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | strowō | pile up; construct, build |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | strew- | to spread, to strew |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sterh₃- | to spread, extend, stretch out |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ster- | sterile, infertile |